


Pending Judgment

by Salmaka



Category: The Technomancer (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Mention of events from Mars: War Logs, Moments, Post-Game, Regret, Reunion, Salmaka's Expanded Universe, Sean Feels, Sean is alive, Sean's POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-06-30 16:55:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15755910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salmaka/pseuds/Salmaka
Summary: It took him a longer than he taught but he is finally ready to face the only person on Mars who has a right to judge him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Why, the **SEAN** feels addict, am I writing this only now?!? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
>    
> (but maybe 'cause I didn't want to acknowledge MWL Sean and only a recent discussion on our Discord changed my mind? _*kiss kiss*_ )
> 
> Originally named "Regret", still don't know if I should go back to it... You tell me.

Sean walks through the big gate and finds himself in the middle of the crowd. During his months on the run he met several mutants, so he is used to them more than he was. To see them more than tools. Still, he never saw this many on one place at once. It’s weirdly hopeful to see them living their lives peacefully without any cruel master sending them to death.

The memories from the Camp pass his mind and he quickly dispatches them. He clenches his fists and tries to concentrate on his current task. He is in the Mutant Valley to find a specific mutant. He doesn’t know where to start, though. And so, he’s just wandering around the main market for a while.

Until.

The red-head woman passes him, and her eyes linger on him a bit longer. It’s true that his visage is not what it used to be. His hair is a bit longer than he likes, all gone is his silver circlet, his face is cover in few days stubble and so on. There is no reason for her to be looking at him.

“Sorry, but…” that young woman in mechanic jacket says and touches his shoulder gently. Sean sighs, gathers all his remaining straight and with hands behind his back, he turns around to face her. “Oh, shit! _It’s you!_ ” she almost shouts before she puts a hand over her mouth.

“Excuse me? Do I know you?” Sean asks tiredly. Although the woman looks somehow familiar…

“You’re Zach’s dad, are you? I mean – his master?”

Sean looks down and smiles for himself. “Yes, that I am. Where is he?”

“He should be home. Follow me,” the woman says, and he does as he was told. His search just got much shorter.

They are walking through the busy market to the stairs leading to the upper part of the city. They make a few turns, but the walk is short and now they are standing before one of the many houses carved into the hard stone of the valley. The houses they missed seem smaller compared to this one.

The woman opens the main door and enters. When standing inside she says, “ _Sparkle?_ You won’t believe me who I met.” Sean is trying to suppress the laugh over the nickname Zach’s friends gave him.

Sean looks around the room he is currently standing in. The room is filled with shelves full of books, some of the books and tools are laying on the small table before the old looking sofa, too. There are three more doors leading to the other parts of the house. From where Sean is standing he can see through one of the doorframes to a well-supplied kitchen with a bar counter. The other two rooms must be a bedroom and some kind of study or a workshop. As he knows Zach, it’s both in one.

“Is Andrew already back?” the very familiar voice says from one of the rooms. The name Andrew rings the bell, but Sean’s mind is set on another person now.

“No. The second-best person on Mars.”

“Who?”

“ _Shadow!_ Just get your lazy ass here before I will do it myself!” the woman basically shouts at Zach and Sean looks at her with a shocked expression. He wouldn’t expect that spirit in her.

This finally makes the other man do something and Sean can hear the sound of a chair moving and incoming steps.

“I was in the middle of writing reports. It should be-“ a man with light-brown hair in simple clothing stops speaking the moment his eyes meet with older Mancer’s. “…” Zach opens his mouth to say something, but the words die in his throat.

Sean stays where he’s standing and with a gentle smile says, “Hello, Zachariah.”

The younger man leans on the doorframe in which he’s standing. His left hand flies up to his open mouth. Sean has an inner conflict if he should go closer or give the boy some space to process all what is happening. However, the moment Zach’s legs give up he is next to him to catch him before he hits the ground.

The moment he has the younger mancer in his arms Zach clenches his dirty jacket and buries his head in his shoulder. Sean doesn’t hesitate and hugs him with the same force. Zach is shaking, and he can feel the wetness spreading from Zach’s eyes into his clothes.

“You’re here.” Zach manages to say between the sobs. “ _You’re alive!_ ”

“Yes, Zachariah. I’m alive and I’m sorry I didn’t come back earlier…”

“I don’t care… You’re here now.”

“I just… I should go,” the woman behind him says. “I will tell others, yeah?”

“Yeah. Thank you, Amelia.”

“You’re welcome.”

Sean doesn’t know how long they sat there like this, but it doesn’t feel long enough, when Zach lets go of him and says, “Want to go for a walk?”

“I would love to. Lead the way.” Zach smiles at him with the corner of his lips and reaches for a dark leather jacket and they leave the house.

Sean has a feeling they are avoiding the most crowded places or places where they can meet some friendly faces and he is kind of glad for that. He needs to have a talk with his former student before he will be ready to meet anyone else. The chances that Zach won’t want him in his life anymore are pretty high.

They are walking in the silence, Zach is surely sorting in his head all that is happening. But it’s a comfortable silence. They end up in the now empty crater. By all the gear around it seems that it’s used as a training ground. Zach leads him down the staircase, but he stops on the last step and sits down. Sean follows and sits down next to him.

The silence continuous till Sean finally speaks up, “I… I did things I’m not proud of, Zachariah. Things I didn’t know I’m capable of…”

“I know,” Zach says with his gaze lock forward as it was the most normal thing.

Sean is shocked. “You know? And you still welcomed me with open arms?”

“Yes. I… My faith in people I know was tested in these past months. Multiple times in fact. And if I was able to forgive them I as hell can forgive you too, Sean.”

“I’m not so sure about it. I didn’t even forgive myself.”

“So, tell me. Tell me your side of the story. Please,” Zach he demands and sits to face Sean.

Zach’s back leans against the railing of the staircase and his hands are resting on his one bend leg. He looks somehow different and yet the same. His hair is slightly lighter, and he has a longer haircut. But the main changes are in his overall look and character. Zachariah grew up in more than one way since he saw him last time.

Sean takes a deep breath and starts his tale.

He is telling him about Mary – how they met and what she was for him. He’s telling him about his anger, sadness and disappointment over war, Abundance and himself. He’s telling him about the horrible things he did as a camp overseer. The things he let others do, too. All of it.

Tears may have started rolling down his cheek at some point in his story. All he knows is that Zach took his hand and doesn’t let go.

He tells him how he was ready to die when the prisoner showed up and he was the last obstacle for him and his companion. But the prisoner didn’t kill him, he let him live. Sean woke up few hours later – wounded but alive – and he decided to run away and hide.

How he spent every moment on his run thinking about the things he did, about the man he had become without anyone looking over him.

“I would come back sooner. First, I waited till you make Viktor pay for all what he did,” he first doubted in whatever Ian's plan was, but when he heard the news he smiled over the old fox’s genius. “And then… I wasn’t sure you would like to meet the man I had become…”

“Master- _Sean_ ,” Zach says with so much compassion in his voice it hurts, “It will take some time for me to… come with terms with what you did, but knowing you are alive is the most important thing right now. I’m so happy you’re here.”

“I really don’t deserve you, Zachariah. You’re too good for me. For whole Mars.”

“I heard that somewhere before,” Zach says and laughs shortly. The memory of them sitting on the Order’s rooftop is very fondly on Sean’s mind. “It’s good to have you back, Sean.”

“I’m happy you want me here, Zach,” Sean says and hugs him one more time.

“I may ask more questions. Later, but I will. And I’m sure you too want to ask me some, too.”

“That’s only fair, my boy. Ask them and I will answer you the way best I can.”

“Thank you. Are you ready to meet others?”

“I think I am.”


	2. Chapter 2

Zachariah tells him to stay near the stair for a minute and leaves his side. Sean leans on the railing and takes the opportunity to look around more. In the centre of the crater, in the center of the Valley itself, is a big and old tree. Or at least Sean thinks it’s a tree…

And around the tree is standing a group of Mancers. They seem well, after what horrors they had to go through. It’s good to see that Order is strong to survive events like it did. To see that Zachariah is a good Great Master to them.

He looks Zach’s way just in time to see angry Sam turning her head his way. The young Great Master tries to tell her something and grab her arm but there is no force on Mars that can stop Sam when her eyes are locked on target.

Whatever is coming he is ready for it and probably deserves it.

Sam storms to him with a very unpleased expression clouding her face. Before Sean can even turn to her properly, she slaps him over his left cheek. Her palm must have been charged because it pinches more than a normal slap does.

“You bloody bastard!” she says with a venom in her voice but then her shoulders drop, and more happily says, “I missed you!”

The hug comes as unexpected as the slap.

“Good to see you, too. Where’s Melvin?” He kinda misses him too.

Before Zach can open his mount to answer, Sam beats him to it, “He is with his boyfriend in Noctis.”

“Melvin got himself a _boyfriend_? Who is he?”

“" _The prince_ " of Noctis, Dandolo. Watching them dancing around one another was sometimes painful to do… Must say I was a bit worry about Melvin, but Dandolo is good for him.”

Well, whoever Dandolo is he must be at least a decent man if he got Sam’s approval. However, Sam isn’t the only Mancer in the crater and Sean should say hello to the rest of them too.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sean spends the rest of the day meeting with Zach’s new friends individually. With Zachariah by his side the whole time. It’s weird to see him with this many now. He always was a loner during his years in the Order. No, it’s not weird – it’s heartwarming. Zachariah finally found people who really love him and care about him. And the other way around. Something what was nearly impossible in the Order. He finally found a place he can call home.

First, he meets a very big but kind and intelligent mutant name Phobos. Phobos helped build and is helping to run this city of mutants alongside with Scum. Sean remembers Scum and the word about his deeds in the Camp must reach Phobos too. Sean can see the conflict in him – on one hand, Sean is Zach's friend but on the other, he hurt his people. Sean doesn’t blame him. What surprises him, however, is that Phobos and Sam are the parents of this whole group of friends.

He already knows Scott but still. There is lingering tension between Zach and his old doctor friend. Something must have happened. Maybe Scott is amongst the people Zach talked about – the people who tested his faith in them.

And then there is the red-head woman who recognized him at the market. She still wears the mechanic jacket and there is an oily smudge on her right cheek. 

“Hi, again. I’m Amelia and I’m driving them wherever their hearts desire.”

Sean looks at her properly and the feeling of knowing her from somewhere doesn’t go away. “Sorry for staring, but I have a feeling I saw you before…”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m a Reacher. You may had seen me on one of the billion posters all over the Ophir.”

“Oh, yes! That’s it. Nice to meet you, Amelia.”

“Likewise,” she smiles at him and leaves to her rover. She mentioned something about a faulty starter.

However, two members of Zach’s group of friends are missing.

“Andrew with Niesha are in Noctis for a week. But they should be back in next two days,” Zach says to him when they are walking back to Zach’s house.

“Is he-?” Sean asks but is interrupted by Zach’s answer.

“Yes. It’s _him_.”

Sean doesn’t know what to say to the fact that Zach’s and Andrew’s paths crossed again. Fate has a strange sense of humor and nothing can’t keep these two apart. And they are more than friends this time. Sean doesn’t need to even ask this question to know it. He heard Zach asking if the young man come back to Valley and he can hear Zach’s change of tone when he’s saying his name. Some things don’t change after all…

“Did you know he is alive?” Zach asks when Sean stays silent.

“No, I did not. Only after you came to the Chapel and started asking questions I confronted Ian. I was in the dark as much as you were till that day.”

“Ok. So, Ian knew – obviously, but did Connor know? Back in Ophir, when they talked, he sounded genuinely surprised to see him.”

“Yes, he knew.” A sad smile passes Zach’s lips. Connor and Zach were close, he must feel betrayed that Connor didn’t tell him. “However, he blamed himself even though it was not only his fault. If he could change even the smallest of details, he would.”“Hmm. That sounds like master Connor. He even said he is sorry back when... But still, …” Zach doesn’t finish and sighs.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It’s the second day in the valley for Sean and he finally has some time to do something about his appearance.

He changes the old and dirty clothes he wore on his run for the spare uniform Zach gave him from his supply chest. The feeling of familiar materials on his body is wonderful. Then he visits a local hairdresser and let him do the magic. The resulting hairstyle is quite similar to what he had in Ophir, the only difference is that the hair on the sides is shorter than the rest.

In the afternoon Sean feels like a new man. A big part of him wonders if he even deserves it… However, his thoughts are interrupted by a sound of familiar steps approaching. When he turns around Zach waves and smiles at him.

“You’re looking good, Sean. Oh, you lost your circlet.”

“Amongst other things, yes.”

Zach grabs him by his now shaved chin and starts examining him. Sean freezes a bit but lets Zach turn his head however he needs. Normally it was Sean examining Zach like this when he was injured. Now roles switched. Thanks to their height difference it looks quite silly because Zach is almost standing on his tip toes.

“And parts of your implants, too. How?”

“The one on my forehead was damaged after my fight with the prisoner,” as he is saying that, Zach runs his thumb over the scar. It’s healing pretty nicely actually. “And the ones on my right temple were fried as well. I took off as much of them as possible.”

Zach continues his inspection of the metal parts still attached to his temples and Sean can almost feel his thoughts. “Although the implants are pretty much useless as they are now, the connectors don’t seem to be that much damaged. You were lucky the wounds didn’t get infected. Any side effects?”

“I haven’t used my technomancy since then, so no. And you and me know that they were more for the show than anything else,” this answer gets him a chuckle and a poke to the shoulder from the younger man.

“I can make you a new circlet if you want.”

“That’s up to you, my boy.”

“It’s weird to see you without it… When Andrew comes back I will have more time. I still remember how to build it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it showing how much I love Amelia?
> 
> I know that Zach should be angry (or whatever) at him but these types of dialogues between them are writing itself.
> 
> There is a [Bonus scene](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vFEyr5soLP-AH_cuvr4aIE7_2P3SSFlA0PrhH3tlCuY/edit?usp=sharing). But be aware that many of it won't make sense if you didn't read [Boss Meeting](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14490258/chapters/33473988). ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Sorry for any misspells or mistakes I made and overlooked. Shout at me if you find any.


End file.
